


Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy

by dotpng



Category: Halt and Catch Fire
Genre: M/M, Mutiny Exchange 2k17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 17:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9669770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dotpng/pseuds/dotpng
Summary: Lev wasn't really sure when Mutiny had become home; it was all little things, the fresh pot of coffee when he woke up, Cam’s little scribbled notes stuck to his screen, the room he shared with three other equally disorganized dudes, all their stuff strewn across the floor until, once a month, like clockwork, Donna swooped in and tidied up and they couldn't find anything for days.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hapsby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hapsby/gifts).



> The first chapter is mostly found family stuff and the second is where the Yo-Yo/Lev actually kicks in.... Sorry I put angst in the beginning :( but the second chapter is all sweet I swear

Lev wasn't really sure when Mutiny had become home; it was all little things, the fresh pot of coffee when he woke up, Cam’s little scribbled notes stuck to his screen, the room he shared with three other equally disorganized dudes, all their stuff strewn across the floor until, once a month, like clockwork, Donna swooped in and tidied up and they couldn't find anything for days. 

He was an only child with a single mom and at first he hadn’t thought he could get used to living with so many people all at once but the bustle and the sound settled into the bones of the house, until it was part of it, a living thing, and now Lev didn’t think he’d ever be able to fall asleep without the gentle click-clack of a keyboard somewhere nearby.

It was good; it was safe, and warm. He could trust them. Maybe that was why he’d gotten careless. 

He’d never really realized just how much these people were his family, not until he’d landed in the hospital. So many people had come to see him, more than he realized cared. At some point, blinking blearily through a haze of painkillers, he’d even seen Joe’s face at the window, although that’d probably been some kind of weird fever dream. Cameron had been there too, yelling at the cops with Donna’s arms around her and his heart had swelled at the sight but in the moment he just wished she would be quieter. It was strange, all this love on the heels of all this pain. Like the universe trying to balance itself out; or rather, his friends trying to balance out the universe, whether it cooperated or not.

Donna had come by, asked him, quietly, if he wanted her to call his mother; he’d shaken his head no. She worried so much already. Donna had stayed, though, for a long time; had fussed and brushed his bangs out of his eyes, and he was grateful. She may not have been his mother, but she was  _ a _ mother, and it read in her concern and affection and her staunch protectiveness. At one point a nurse had tried to make her leave, something about  _ family only, ma’am _ , but she’d just shot her a withering look, silently daring her to call security. He’d kind of felt sorry for the nurse.

He hadn’t been able to sleep that night, not really. The hospital equipment beeps were a poor substitute for the click-clack of a keyboard.

A couple of days later, somewhere in the steady stream of visitors from Mutiny, Yo-Yo had showed up, knocked on the door with a tupperware full of cookies. It’d been unexpected; they hadn’t spoken since he’d quit. For a minute they’d both just stayed frozen (not that Lev was going anywhere anytime soon). Then Yo-Yo had walked up and buried him in a hug, the kind of bear hug only he could properly give. Lev had squeaked as he felt his bones creak and Yo-Yo had immediately retreated. “Fuck, sorry, I forgot-”

Lev had waved away his concern. “Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.” And it was; it was good to have someone forget, and not pity him, even for a moment. He didn't think he ever could.

The cookies were peanut butter. His favorite.

“You going to the party?” Yo-Yo had asked.

“The- Oh, the Mutiny thing? Yeah, I don’t- I don’t think so. Doctor’s orders,” Lev answered. “Why?”

Yo-Yo had scratched the back of his neck. “Well,” he’d said, “I’ll be there.”

“Well in that case,” he’d teased, "I think I could figure something out.”

So he’d gone, black eye and split lip and crutches and all. And all through it he’d discovered, again, how much these people cared, and obviously he’d had friends before, he wasn’t, like, some kind of loser nerd stereotype, but the way they’d all rushed down to see him, almost knocking him off balance with their enthusiasm before Yo-Yo had steadied him with a hand on his shoulder, well, it was enough to make a guy tear up a little.

A few weeks later and he was healed up, technically, still had a couple gross bruises and a scar right over the spot where his collar bone had fractured, but he was okay. Kind of.


	2. Chapter 2

Somehow Yo-Yo always seemed to know when something was off, and today wasn’t any different. “What's up?” he said, leaning against Lev’s desk.

“This guy Alex,” He gestured towards the screen. “I’ve been talking to him for a bit and he’s really sweet. He’s got good taste in movies. Oh, and I’m getting none of the red flags I got with ‘George’.”

Yo-Yo frowned. “That's good, right?” 

Lev hesitated. “Well, he wants to meet up. But...” he trailed off, not really wanting to voice the thought out loud.  _ I’ll either get laid or murdered! Fifty-fifty! _

“Yeah, I get you.” Yo-Yo grimaced. “Hm.”

“I shouldn't go… It’s just, ugh, I don't want to stay alone for the rest of my life.” Lev buried his face in his hands. “I have  _ needs. _ ” Yo-Yo patted his shoulder sympathetically. It wasn't just about sex, though. He wanted to live, damn it, he wanted to be in love, in public, and he daydreamed about sharing a small cozy apartment and going grocery shopping and adopting a floppy-eared little dog with someone more often than he cared to admit.

Suddenly Yo-Yo lit up. “What if I come with?”

Lev looked at him dubiously. “What, like a chaperone?”

“No,” he said. “Like your really big, burly friend who’ll kick the ass of anyone who tries to bother you.” He stood up straighter, puffed out his chest and put on what was probably his idea of a tough look. He’s ridiculous, Lev thought, an uncontrollable grin spreading over his face. He’s the best guy on earth.

So he set a date with Alex- February 14th, hopeless romantic that he was, and in a public place, this time- and proceeded to disintegrate into nerves over the next week, counting down the days.

He woke up the morning of completely stressed, hands shaking, and skipped both breakfast and lunch (before Cameron noticed and made him eat a bowl of cereal). Finally it was time; and as he and Yo-Yo walked out the door, Donna yelling “Go get ‘em, tiger!” to the great hilarity of the dozen or so coders gathered on the porch, he felt eerily like an awkward teenager en route to senior prom.

Yo-Yo patted his back. “Don’t sweat it,” he said, too quiet for anyone else to hear. “It’ll go great.”

He was a little less optimistic after the first hour passed with no sign of Lev’s date. “Yo-Yo, we can leave. It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, honestly, but there was no point making everyone miserable, and ruining a friend’s Valentine’s Day by making him sit here for no reason certainly wasn’t making anyone happy.

Yo-Yo just frowned and ordered another shot.

After the second hour, though, he stood up, abruptly. “Okay, it’s been two fucking hours. I’m done with this.” 

Lev blinked up at him. “Oh- Okay, we can go back-”

“What?” Yo-Yo squinted. “No. We came all the way out here, right? You gonna let some douche ruin your night?”

“Uh… Yes?”

“No! Come on!” He yanked Lev up out of his chair and grabbed him by the shoulders, suddenly weirdly determined. “Let’s get something to eat. I know a place.”

The place turned out to be a little italian place where Yo-Yo’s friend was the sous-chef, apparently. And it was...  _ way _ fancier than Lev would’ve expected.

“I thought we were going to like, a Burger King or something.” He spoke in a hushed voice, still kind of in awe and feeling a bit (a lot) underdressed.

Yo-Yo kind of scoffed. “Burger King? No, dude, fuck, it’s Valentine’s Day and you got stood up. You deserve better than that. You deserve this place, also known as the best Italian you’ll have this side of the Atlantic.”

Right then, the waitress arrived to take their orders, and conversation veered to Mutiny, and what each of them had missed. Yo-Yo had found some work, but it wasn’t as fun, obviously. And Lev finally had some help to manage Mutiny Exchange, making it less of a chore and more just awesome. When the food died down the conversation lulled for a bit, and Lev worked up to the question that’d been on his mind for the better part of the evening.

“So, is this like. A date.” Lev asked. And then held his breath.

There was a short silence during which he thought he would die, and then, “Do you want it to be?” Yo-Yo’s answer was careful, soft. He kept staring into his plate of spaghetti.

“Yes. Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “But um. I didn’t know you liked guys,” Lev said. He felt slightly stupid.

“Yeah,” Yo-Yo answered, sheepish. “Me neither. I don’t know. I like you.”

They couldn’t help but smile at each other goofily for the rest of the meal. 

On their way to the bus stop, Yo-Yo wrapped an arm around him, simple and easy as breathing, and Lev wondered, not for the first time that night, how he could’ve possibly missed something this perfectly obvious.

It was late when they finally got to the house. 

Lev ducked his head. “Thanks,” he said, “for tonight. You didn’t have to do that.”

Yo-Yo smiled a little lopsided smile. He ran his thumb over the scar on Lev’s collarbone. His hands were large, and warm.

“Hey, it was my pleasure,” said Yo-Yo, “you deserve to be happy.”

Little by little, he was starting to believe it.


End file.
